TV access

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Senate caption inquiry posts submissions

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Submissions to the Senate Standing Committee on Environment and Communications which is reviewing proposed changes to captioning regulations have now been posted on the committee’s website.

Senate chamber in Parliament House, Canberra

The proposed amendments, which were introduced into parliament in October, include:


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Deadline for submissions to caption review arrives

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Today is the deadline for submissions to the Senate Communications and Environment Committee which is reviewing proposed changes to captioning regulations.

Number 10 circled on calendar with the word 'Deadline' written below; right hand holding pen underneath


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Five live-caption quality issues from the UK

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The quality of live captioning was a major topic discussed at the recent The Future of Subtitling conference held in London on 10 November 2014. Media Access Australia CEO Alex Varley presented at the conference and he gives his impressions on the main issues from the UK perspective.

Woman using live captioning set-up with microphone, headphones and computer


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Ofcom releases first access report for 2014

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The UK communications regulator Ofcom has released its Television Access Report for the first half of 2014, which shows that once again, most British broadcasters are exceeding their access requirements. The report comes as the Federal Government is trying to end similar reporting requirements which are in place for Australian broadcasters.

Girl watching TV


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Senate committee seeks submissions about caption changes

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The Senate committee which is looking at the Government’s recently proposed changes to caption regulations is seeking submissions by interested parties.

Parliament House, Canberra, with lights on at dusk

The proposed changes are part of the Broadcasting and Other Legislation Amendment (Deregulation) Bill 2014, which was read into the House of Representatives on 22 October 2014. They include:


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US cable company introduces talking TV guides

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Comcast, one of the largest cable TV suppliers in America, has introduced the industry’s first ‘voice enabled television interface’, allowing blind and vision impaired customers to easily navigate through program guides and other features.

Television remote control resting on printed TV guide


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Discovery Kids on Foxtel – learning and access all in one

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Engaging educational TV that is 100% captioned is a boon for students with diverse learning needs. Discovery Kids on FOXTEL, launched last week, delivers on the promise of accessibility and fun educational programming for children.

Discovery Kids logo


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Ofcom report highlights live captioning issues

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The UK communications regulator Ofcom has issued the second of four planned reports on the quality of live captioning. It finds that there have been some improvements since the first report in April, but shows that the delay in captions appearing on screen remains a significant issue for viewers.

Left hand pressing 'up' button on remote control


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Caption quality: International approaches to standards and measurement

Media Access Australia has released a white paper entitled Caption quality: International approaches to standards and measurement. It focuses on issues surrounding the live captioning of TV programs, the difficulties in measuring caption quality effectively, and some of the solutions that have been proposed.

The white paper, which is the first in a planned series, was written by our Project manager for television, Chris Mikul, and sponsored by Red Bee Media Australia.


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Government postpones changes to captioning regulations

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After lobbying from consumer groups, the Government has referred to a Senate committee a bill which would change captioning requirements for broadcasters and subscription TV providers.

Man writing the word 'Quality' with ballpoint pen in right hand


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